WARNING
THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS CONTENT ABOUT EATING POKEMON.
Checking the time, it was almost one in the afternoon.
David, who had been playing all morning and was absolutely starving, brought Zorua to the resort's specialty restaurant.
David confidently waved his hand and told the waiter to bring several of the restaurant's signature dishes. When he heard the waiter mention that for a small processing fee, the restaurant could also prepare any fish customers caught themselves, David selected a few smaller fish from his basket and asked her to have the chef cook them.
He would take the rest home so his parents could enjoy them tonight.
Perhaps due to constantly serving large numbers of tourists, the restaurant's service speed was impressively fast. Before long, the waiter brought out all the dishes David had ordered, one by one.
Specialty Braised Sea Cucumber with Leeks, Spicy Crab, Creamy Clam Chowder, Stir-fried Squid—dish after dish of specialty cuisine arrived. Spicy, salty, fresh, and fragrant flavors filled the air. David and Zorua ate with immense satisfaction. David couldn't help but laugh heartily at the little fox's expression, which showed both a desire to eat more and a fear of the spiciness. He only stopped teasing when the little fox began glaring at him with genuinely annoyed eyes.
The last dishes were the sea fish David had just caught—a total of four fish, with two grilled and two prepared as soup. The tender fish meat had been brushed with a secret sauce containing Berries and Combee honey by the chef during grilling to enhance its flavor and freshness. The perfectly grilled fish was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, incredibly aromatic with every bite.
The fish soup, because the sea fish already had natural saltiness, was only seasoned with a small amount of the resort's specialty sea salt after being cleaned and simmered with a bit of Moomoo Milk. It tasted pleasantly salty and fresh with a hint of sweetness—delicious and refreshing, leaving a wonderful aftertaste.
David and Zorua, with two fish each, quickly finished everything.
After the meal, David and Zorua, completely full and satisfied, rested in the restaurant for half an hour. Finally, they stood up, ready to begin their afternoon activities. By then, it was almost three o'clock.
When paying the bill, David glanced at it—12,300 Pokédollars. After rounding down, David was charged 12,000.
Well, tourist attractions would be tourist attractions.
However, he didn't complain. The meal had genuinely satisfied both him and Zorua, and it used many Pokémon-related ingredients. If he remembered correctly, just the raw Slowpoke tail alone cost three thousand Pokédollars. It was reasonable for the meal to be somewhat expensive.
Besides, he had money now! Why should he pinch pennies when he could afford to enjoy himself? Now that his circumstances allowed it, why should he and his Pokémon deny themselves?
For the rest of the afternoon, David accompanied Zorua on a thorough tour of the resort area, trying out all the entertainment facilities. Finally, they bought a large collection of souvenirs at the specialty shop in the resort center. As the sun began to set, David ended his day trip and boarded the bullet train home with Zorua.
7:00 PM
David, tired from a full day's activities, returned home with the little fox, carrying a basket of lively sea fish.
"Mom, Aria, I'm home!" David called out as soon as he entered.
"You brat, what are you shouting for!" David's father, sitting alone on the sofa in the living room, thought to himself. 'Why does he only call for his mom and sister? Doesn't he see me sitting right here?' They hadn't seen each other for almost two weeks, and this boy didn't even acknowledge his old father.
As soon as he entered, David noticed his father sitting alone in the living room watching television. David looked around, then asked, "Dad, where are Mom and Aria?"
"Son, you're back. Go wash your hands—dinner will be ready soon." David's mother emerged from the kitchen, having heard the commotion.
Hearing those familiar words, David smiled warmly. Sure enough, even in the Pokémon world, even as a Pokémon Professor, Mom was still Mom, just like always.
"Mom, look! I brought back something good. It's so heavy, I nearly died carrying it."
David quickly retrieved the container he'd brought back, presenting it to his mother like treasure. Inside, seven or eight sea fish of varying sizes kept wriggling. These sea fish were all quite large—the smallest weighing almost seven pounds. Including the container, the whole thing weighed at least sixty to seventy pounds.
It was only because this was the Pokémon world, where human physical fitness far exceeded normal standards, that he could manage. If this were before the world changed, with his old sedentary lifestyle, it wouldn't have been easy to carry these fish home at all.
David's father came over as well. "Specialty sea fish from the Coastal Resort! What, you took Zorua to the New District to play today? Did you buy these?" he asked with a questioning tone.
"I caught them!" David emphasized proudly.
"These are fish I personally caught and brought back tonight for everyone to taste!"
"I'm not like you, Dad, always coming back empty-handed."
David smirked. Everyone knew that David's father, the Gym Leader, was famously known as the 'Air Force King' in Imperial Capital Trainer circles. Every time he failed to catch fish, he would stubbornly go to the market to buy some to save face.
"Hey! I..."
"Alright, stop arguing, you two. Don't just stand there—hurry up and help me prepare the fish. Be quick, dinner is almost ready. And David, go to the backyard and call your sister. It's time to eat!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Oh, and Mom, remember to make a few extra fish when you cook them. You need to save a portion for Zorua!"
Hearing his mother speak, David ended his bickering with his father and quickly headed toward the backyard, not forgetting about the fish he'd promised the little fox.
Running into the backyard, a familiar, imposing figure immediately caught his eye. Aria was training with several Pokémon. Looking at the robust Dragonite, which stood nearly two stories tall, David understood the true worth of the 'Magic University Team Captain' without needing his system's Pokédex to confirm it.
However, a question that had troubled him for many years was finally answered—sure enough, Professor Oak's Pokédex data must have been randomly estimated!
[Name: Dragonite] [Type: Dragon/Flying] [Gender: ♂] [Energy Level: 49 (Professional Tier 1)] [Ability: Multiscale] [Aptitude: Pink] [Held Item: Dragon Fang] [Moves: Dragon Breath, Extreme Speed, Water Pulse, Flamethrower, Thunder, Roost, Dragon Rush, Dragon Dance, Draco Meteor, Dragon Claw, Hurricane, Hyper Beam...]
[Name: Haxorus] [Type: Dragon] [Gender: ♂] [Energy Level: 44 (Professional Tier 1)] [Ability: Mold Breaker] [Aptitude: Pink] [Held Item: Razor Claw] [Moves: Dragon Claw, Dual Chop, Iron Tail, Dragon Pulse, Earthquake, Dragon Rush, Dragon Dance, Draco Meteor, Giga Impact, Hyper Beam...]
Dragonite, Haxorus, Gyarados, Dragapult, Charizard, Kingdra, plus the Deino from this morning—a total of seven Pokémon. Except for Deino, which was clearly recently caught, every Pokémon had reached at least peak Professional level. Dragonite, as her ace partner, was even one step away from entering Professional Tier 2.
The reason Aria claimed she was still at the Professional level was simply because one of the requirements for the Professional Trainer assessment was having at least a complete team of six Professional-level Pokémon. Otherwise, with Dragonite's strength alone, if she could participate in the practical examination, ordinary Professional Trainers would likely be swept three to zero.
Most of these Pokémon were familiar to David, though he'd only seen them in their pre-evolved forms before. After all this time, they had all evolved. Because Aria had been away at university, they hadn't seen David in quite a while. Now, upon seeing him, they were all happy to greet him enthusiastically.
After David spent time with Aria playing with the Pokémon for a while, David's mother finished preparing dinner.
Gardevoir, who had been helping in the kitchen, used her Psychic powers to levitate all the dishes outside.
The family then gathered at the table in the backyard.
Because both father and daughter's Pokémon teams consisted mainly of large Dragon-type Pokémon, whenever David's family ate together, they typically dined in the backyard where there was more space.
For the little fox, who was attending its first "family dinner," David raised its chair so it could sit comfortably beside him.
David's family didn't have many strict rules when eating together. David's father and mother both had their own busy schedules, Aria was studying at Magic University, and David was essentially living in a dormitory. Having not eaten together for a long time, the family members chatted and ate at the dining table, sharing stories and catching up.